Community members are invited to bring heirloom seeds, share gardening knowledge and learn more about the importance of preserving the agricultural folkways of Arkansas at Russellville’s third annual seed swap from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at All Saints’ Episcopal Church.

The seed swap is a project of the University of Central Arkansas Sociology Department’s Conserving Arkansas’ Agriculture Heritage (CAAH), an organization dedicated to promoting genetic diversity by continuing the tradition of growing heirloom seeds and encourage local agricultural sustainability.

Dr. Brian Campbell, assistant professor at University of Central Arkansas and director of CAAH, became interested in seed swapping while attending graduate school at the University of Georgia.

“I worked on the Southern Seed Legacy, a project very similar to CAAH,” Campbell said. “I learned about seed saving and the importance of maintaining genetic diversity.”

Campbell said heritage seeds are open-pollinated seeds, passed down within a family or community and adapted for soil, climate and insects.

“You can still have sustainable agriculture using hybrid seeds,” Campbell said. “But small-scale farmers have very little wiggle room when it comes to making a living, so they can save money on seeds and inputs if they use well-adapted local heritage seeds. They can save the seeds for replanting next year and because the seeds thrive in local conditions, they won’t spend as much on irrigation and fertilizers or pesticides.”

Campbell and his students operate a seed bank, growing heirloom seeds and distributing them at swaps. The seed bank maintains records to identify the best-adapted varieties for different regions of Arkansas.

“Students attend swaps and talk to people and document the stories and agronomic information about the seeds.”

Campbell said people can bring seeds to swap, take seeds home or just come to share stories.

“If they don’t have seeds, they can acquire some, along with information on how to preserve them,” Campbell said. “And then bring them to the swap next year to return to the seed bank for us to redistribute.”

People receiving seeds from the seed bank agree to share one-third with another gardener, return one-third to CAAH and keep one-third for themselves.

Local co-coordinator Carolyn McLellan said more than 50 people attended the Russellville event last year. She expects even more this year.

“It really is exciting,” McLellan said. “Last year we received a phone call from a man that owns a grist mill in Missouri looking for a specific heirloom corn seed. He said the corn grown from heirloom grinds better.”

McLellan said the man was unable to attend the swap, but someone attending brought the variety he was looking for, and the group was able to send him the seeds.

Co-coordinator Suzanne Alford-Hodges said the swap also offers gardeners an opportunity to share seeds passed down through generations.

“Last year, a man brought seeds passed down through his family that had been kept in the freezer for years,” Hodges said. “That really is what we’re hoping for. To find heirloom seeds to share with others.”

For more information about Campbell’s research and CAAH, visit www.arkansasagro.wordpress.com. For more information about the Russellville seed swap, call McLellan at 968-6286 or Alford-Hodges at 967-4547.